The present invention is directed to a sleeved garment having retractable finger covering compartments.
There are several known sleeved garments having mittens or the like attached or connected to the end or exterior of a sleeve to protect the hand of a wearer from the elements.
Wright U.S. Pat. No. 361,250 discloses a mitten made from an extension of sleeve material. The mitten can be folded back upon the cuff of the sleeve by opening a flap secured to the sleeve via buttons. The mitten and the cuff itself are again folded back and secured in place by buttons on the flap. The structure of the retracted/folded mitten and cuff resemble a French cuff.
Hertz U.S. Pat. No. 1,092,047 discloses a storm sleeve having an extendable cuff formed on the outside of the sleeve. The cuff can be extended to form a mitten, in the same manner as in Wright.
Aron U.S. Pat. No. 1,183,792 discloses a convertible sleeve opening wherein a cuff can be converted into a mitten. In Aron, a part of an opening of an entire mitten or glove is attached to an inside portion of a sleeve. In an extended position, the mitten or glove extends beyond the end of the sleeve. When folded, the mitten or glove folds back along the outside of the sleeve.
Kaufman U.S. Pat. No. 1,296,966 shows a combined sleeve and mitten arrangement. Like Aron, Kaufman discloses an entire mitten attached to a sleeve. In this case, however, the mitten is attached to the end of the sleeve instead of to an interior portion thereof. To permit a hand to enter the mitten, the open end of the mitten is connected to the sleeve only partially around the circumference thereof. The entire mitten can be retracted inside the sleeve and stored in a pocket sewn to an inside surface of the sleeve.
Gertz U.S. Pat. No. 2,675,554 show a mitten attached to the end of a sleeve of a garment. The mitten includes an open distal end bordered by an extensible elastic member so that a wearer's hand can penetrate the opening. When the distal end is penetrated, the elastic member functions as a wrist band. To use the mitten, the wearer's hand is retracted through the elastic member and the elastic member closes the open distal end adjacent the wearer's finger tips.
O'Hayer U.S. Pat. No. 2,677,130 discloses an infant's garment or night shirt having sleeves with front and back sections having different lengths. A mitten top is sewn to the longer sleeve back and extends beyond the end of the sleeve front, thereby creating a fully closed pocket. The resulting mitten can be turned inside out so that the wearer's hand is not encased in the pocket or mitten.
Buenos et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,027 disclose a cuff that can be folded out and fully converted into a mitten to cover and enclose the hand of a wearer. When retracted, the mitten is folded back against the outside of the sleeve to form the cuff. The cuff conceals the thumb of the mitten.
There are several problems with these prior art sleeved garments. First, the construction of the mitten and thumb compartments tends to add bulk to the end region of the sleeve. None of the prior structures lends itself to minimization of extra material at the end of the sleeve. Each of the prior art structures are readily noticeable by sight, and also are readily noticeable to the wearer by feel.
The prior art fails to provide a sleeved garment having a retractable mitten and/or thumb compartment wherein, when the mitten and/or thumb compartment is retracted, the sleeved garment appears as though no additional appendages are attached or connected to the sleeve. There has yet to be proposed a long-sleeved garment including a mitten and/or thumb compartment connected thereto such that the mitten and/or thumb compartment is substantially unnoticeable when not in use, does not interfere with a wearer's hand or wrist, and is easy and cheap to manufacture.